BEGGARS CAN'T BE CHOOSY

BEGGARS CAN'T BE CHOOSY. They can are now. Not so long ago, I was called by a charitable organization [to remain nameless] asking if I had anything to donate. Given that I'm cleaning out my basement (albeit slowly), I did, and I pulled it out and put it on our porch for pickup. The truck came and went, and much of what I left out was left behind, including a working television (with digital converter), a gasoline power washer (engine oil hadn't been drained), a small freezer (dented top), and other items that were deemed unworthy of giving to the poor.

It wasn't that many years ago that when I would take a load of junk to the dump, scavengers would literally take everything off the truck before I could get to the landfill itself. Broken lawn mower? I'll take it, fix it up, or use it for parts, or sell it for scrap metal. It didn't matter what was in the truck; someone wanted it. Old furniture? I'll take it. Scrap construction materials? I'm building something.

Even as recently as last year there was a 'too good to throw away' area at our local landfill where I could leave things that I didn't want or need but thought someone else might be able to use/repair/resell. Usually anything left there was gone within the hour.

But the 'do-good nannies' have taken over, the poor evicted, and everything left there is carefully vetted to make sure it isn't in some way harmful to those who might be able to make use of it.

Pity.